The Libelous Library
by DanaeM
Summary: Dear Reader, I am writing to you now from the cold, damp, and smelly basement of the Merriam Dissoto Public Library in Sussex, England, to give you my second account of the Baudelaire siblings’ latest misfortune. In the account that follows, the Baudel
1. Default Chapter

**Author's Notes**: This story takes place immediately after book the first and is written as if the other books do not exist, so keep that in mind while reading. Lastly, please review!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Violet, Klaus, Sunny, Mr. Poe, Justice Straus, and the other characters introduced in book the first.

Dear Reader,

My most sincere congratulations to you for finding this document. I intentionally made it difficult to find, so that Count Olaf cannot obtain it.

I am writing to you now from the cold, damp, and smelly basement of the Merriam Dissoto Public Library in Sussex, England, to give you my second account of the Baudelaire siblings' latest misfortune. In the account that follows, the Baudelaire siblings encounter freezing temperatures, another disastrous fire, street bums, and a very large library. If I were you, I wouldn't read any further, because what follows is the most unpleasant chapter yet in the Baudelaire's miserable lives. Unfortunately, I am not you, and I bet that you'll continue reading this until you can handle its unpleasantness no longer… maybe you'll even read it the whole way through. I am not writing this for your entertainment (besides, anyone reading this for entertainment purposes is most likely the Count himself), but am writing it with the hope that you will help me in my perilous plight to help the Bauldelaires. If that is your intent, good luck to you.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter 2

Last you read of the Baudelaire orphans they had narrowly escaped an inevitably miserable fate. Unfortunately, escaping is the last thing they would succeed in doing for a very long time. Even as Mr. Poe drove them away from Count Olaf's terrible grasp, Sunny, who could not yet even utter an intelligible sentence, felt as though they were merely exchanging one horrible fate for another.

"Roodab!" she said, which meant something like "I feel as if we're merely exchanging one horrible fate for another!"

"I feel that way, too." said Violet as she starred out the small car window and held Sunny close.

"Me too." agreed Klaus. "Maybe we all feel that way because where we're heading is literally quite dark."

Klaus was right. As the children looked out at the hilly country road they traveled, they could see that it grew dark and ominous (a word which here means threatening) not too far ahead.

Nobody spoke for a few moments. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, couldn't speak because they missed their parents very much. As Klaus rested his forehead against the cold window, he thought of his mother and how she used to read to him. Not only did Mrs. Baudelaire read to Klaus at night when he was snuggled in bed, but she also read to him nearly everywhere they went. She read to him in the grocery store, in doctor's waiting rooms, and when Klaus was an infant and sleeping in his crib. Those were the moments Klaus missed most, and as he thought of them now, a tear ran down his face. As Violet stared out the window, she thought mostly of her father. She could almost hear his voice as if he were close by, calling her by the special nickname he'd invented for her. Forcing back tears, she wondered if Sunny could or would remember their parents, since she was only an infant. Even Violet found it sometimes difficult to remember her father's face. Violet looked over at Klaus, and Klaus looked back at Violet. Then, they both looked at Sunny.

"I'm terribly sorry, children." said Mr. Poe. "I know that your stay with Count Olaf didn't quite meet your expectations. It seems as if he was really a sheep in wolf's clothing."

Klaus saw Mr. Poe's eyes in the rear view mirror.

"You mean a wolf in sheep's clothing." Klaus said.

"Yes, oh whatever." Said Mr. Poe, his agitation (which here means embarrassment) sending him into a furious but short coughing fit.

"I was disappointed in him, that's all." he said, holding his handkerchief over his mouth and then stuffing it back into his pocket. "Use it as a lesson, children. You do not want to pretend to be something you're not."

The hills they were driving over began to make the children feel sick, and they all hoped they would reach their destination soon.

"Where are we going, Mr. Poe?" Violet asked.

"Sussex, where your mother's childhood friend…" Mr. Poe paused and pulled a piece of paper from his left pocket. "… Anita lives. She will be your guardian."

None of the children could remember this friend, but they all liked the name Anita, and had a vague idea that she would be kind to them. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope after all.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter 2, Part 1

Throughout life, one often finds oneself giving a person or situation what is often referred to as the "benefit of the doubt", which means tricking yourself into believing that a person has good intentions or that the situation will turn out pleasant in the end. Once you have been season by life's horrible spice and marinated in its grotesque (a word which here means cruel) juice as I have, you will understand that giving anything the benefit of the doubt is never a good idea. But as the Baudelaire children, being as young and unseasoned as they were, arrived at the home of their new guardian, they were hopeful and maybe even a little happy at the prospect of finally being safe and at home.

The children all looked out the rain-speckled car windows at the building that was their destination as Mr. Poe parked the car in a small parking lot next to it. It was a fairly (which here means not really) large building built of brick and pop-corn-like stucco with a small grassy area surrounding it and a few small trees supported by sticks evenly scattered upon it. Weathered gold lettering high on one wall read "Mirriam Dissoto Public Library".

Mr. Poe took the keys out of the ignition.

"This is it, children." he said, twisting his stout head around to see them.

The children didn't respond. Mr. Poe turned his head back around and waited a few moments in silence.

"This is where we get out." He said.

"Ming wee?" Questioned Sunny, which meant something like "Are you sure this is the right place? Because I don't think you mean to tell us we're going to be living in a public library."

"Are you sure this is the right place, Mr. Poe?" asked Violet.

"Yes, this is the place I was instructed to take you. Your guardian works here as a librarian and it would appear that she lives here also." Said Mr. Poe.

"How can someone live in a library?" said Klaus, who in all his life of reading had never heard of such a thing.

Mr. Poe thought.

"Well, we'll find out, won't we?" said Mr. Poe as he got out of the car, opened a large, black umbrella and expectantly (which here means impatiently) opened the door for Violet. Violet and Sunny and then Klaus came out of the car and huddled underneath the umbrella, and the four waddled all squished together to the front door of the building.


End file.
